Kin in Graves Lawsuit Allowed Damages

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, February 20, 2003

About 1,400 families who claim a cemetery operator lost track of burial plots and dug up graves to make room for new ones will be allowed to seek punitive damages, a judge ruled Friday.

Circuit Judge Leonard Fleet decided Houston-based Service Corporation International and its Florida subsidiary must face claims for punitive and compensatory damages in the lawsuit.

The families claim crews at SCI's Menorah Gardens cemeteries in Palm Beach and Broward counties unearthed at least three graves and dumped remains in bordering woods. They say state investigators have confirmed two cases with DNA tests.

Fleet delayed ruling on whether to let families band together in a single class-action lawsuit. A decision was not expected before April.

SCI blames gravediggers for the burial problems and said it has quickly responded to other problems as they developed.

The state sued SCI over alleged misplaced remains and fake plots last year after the families filed their suit.